Leary’s last pre-trial hearing 1:30 Tuesday

Former Sacramento County sheriff’s Lt. Michael P. Leary is slated to be in court tomorrow for what is likely to be his last pre-trial hearing before he stands trial for several felonies allegedly committed during a disputed property transfer.

Trial of the one-time Elk Grove city council member is expected to begin in superior court June 29.

He is looking at four criminal counts springing from a challenged transfer of title for a $610,000 residence at 3301 Marina Cove Circle, Elk Grove.

The 49-year-old Leary was booked and arraigned in October 2009 on charges of grand theft fraud and forgery stemming from the transfer between himself and his former live-in girlfriend Alyc K. Maselli in 2006.

Leary has pleaded innocent to all charges. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 12 years in state prison and fined $75,000. He remains free on bail.

A woman scorned; her revenge delayed...

The matter of People v. Leary, #09F07685 has been stalled for months by various pre-trial motions and hearings.

Leary, a 27-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Department, left his high-ranking post upon his arrest. He was an Elk Grove city councilman for 10 years before losing a re-election bid. Before that he was Elk Grove community services director.
He and Maselli were reportedly planning marriage, but fell out during a banking dispute in early 2008, court documents indicate.

Leary’s attorney, William Portanova of Sacramento, has characterized the couple’s present mise-en-scène as the sort of unfortunate misunderstanding that can crop up when coup-les try to manage their own division of property during a marital break-up without a lawyer.

Leary is set to be in Sacramento Superior Court Judge Gary Ransom’s bailiwick at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.